Didemnum grande ( Herdman, 1886 )

Kott, Patricia, 2005, New and little-known species of Didemnidae (Ascidiacea, Tunicata) from Australia (Part 3), Journal of Natural History 39 (26), pp. 2409-2479 : 2444

Didemnum grande ( Herdman, 1886)

Leptoclinum albidum var. grande Herdman 1886, p 291 .

Didemnum grande: Kott 2001, p 185 and synonymy; 2004a, p 752; 2004b, p 2492.

Distribution

Previously recorded (see Kott 2001, 2004a, 2004b): Western Australia (Port Hedland); Queensland (Hervey Bay, Whitsunday Is, Great Barrier Reef); Northern Territory (Darwin); Indonesia; Philippines. New record: Western Australia (Shoalwater Bay– Cockburn Sound, WAM 309.89)

Remarks

Although this specimen appears to have been dried out, the zooids can still be seen to line the primary cloacal canals that surround the zooid-free areas and the characteristic spicules to 0.1 mm, with 9–11 strongly pointed conical rays in optical transverse section present throughout the colony. The newly recorded specimen is the most southerly record for this well-characterized tropical species on the western Australian coast.